The Nation

A high-ranking panel of federal judges said that it will ask Congress to shield the pocketbooks of state judges who violate someone's civil rights. The panel also heard about new efforts to gain a large pay raise for federal judges--one that would hike federal trial judges' yearly salaries from $76,000 to $121,000. U.S. Judicial Conference spokesman Joseph Spaniol disclosed the developments after the policy-making panel for the federal courts concluded two days of closed-door meetings in Washington. The 26-member conference is headed by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.